Lemon Curd

This homemade Lemon Curd is 1000X better than store-bought and so easy to make at home in 10 minutes without a double boiler! 

You need this Lemon Curd recipe in your life!  It’s deliciously bright, tart, buttery, and sweet all packaged in a versatile, silky smooth, luxuriously creamy spread.  Homemade Lemon Curd is one of the easiest things to make with fresh lemons, sugar, eggs, and butter in less than 10 minutes on the stove without a double boiler!  Lemon Curd is a sensational topping for scones, muffins, pancakes, waffles, crepes, angel food cake, etc. and a delicious filling for tarts, pies, cakes and so much more.  Once you make this easy recipe, I guarantee you’ll be smothering it on everything!  Use my tips and kitchen hacks to help you make this impressive, foolproof recipe for Lemon Curd in minutes!

Sweet and tangy lemon desserts are a celebration of spring and summer and the perfect dessert to bring to gatherings. When you’re in need of a fresh sunshine citrus dessert, look no further than this lemon curd, lemon cheesecake bars, lemon blueberry cake and lemon pound cake.

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how to make lemon curd video

 

What is Lemon Curd?

Lemon curd is a rich, smooth and creamy, vibrant sweet-tart lemony topping or spread made with eggs, lemon juice and zest, sugar, and butter cooked over the stove.  It was originally served as a spread primarily at tea time on foods such scones, toast, biscuits and muffins, or as a filling for cakes, small pastries and tarts, but it’s incredibly versatile.  It’s also fabulous for layered cakes, cookies, crepes, yogurt, ice cream, pancakes, – and my personal favorite, swirled into cottage cheese.

Why do they call it lemon curd?

Today, Lemon Curd is not a curd at all – but it used to be!  It is believed to have originated in England in the 1800’s.  One of its earliest mentions is found in 1844 in The Lady’s Own Cookery Book by Lady Charlotte Campbell Bury. The recipe was made by adding lemon juice to cream to separate the curds from the whey through a cheesecloth – creating actual lemon curd. 

Today, Lemon Curd is made over the stove with the addition of eggs and butter which impart a rich flavor and velvety custard-like texture that is not curd-like at all.

What’s in LEMON CURD?

Making homemade Lemon Curd is easy with this recipe!  It’s, thick and lusciously creamy, wonderfully buttery with an intense sweet-tart lemon flavor.  You will need 7 ingredients for this recipe: eggs, fresh lemons, sugar, butter, cornstarch, vanilla and salt. Each ingredient serves a critical role for thickening and flavoring, so please don’t skip any!  Let’s take a closer look at each ingredient (recipe measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post):   

• Lemons:  For the best zingy and citrusy flavor, Lemon Curd should be made with freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest.   We will use a full 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice which is about 3-4 large lemons and 2 teaspoons lemon zest, although you can add additional zest depending on how tart you like your curd. 
• Eggs:  Eggs help the curd hold together like pudding.  You will need 4 large eggs and 2 large egg YOLKS only for a total of 6 eggs in the recipe. Some recipes strictly use egg yolks and I find those curds way too rich.  This recipe uses a combination of eggs and egg yolks for the ideal flavor and consistency.
• Butter: Helps to thicken the curd and makes it super creamy, rich and decadent with a velvety mouthfeel and subtle buttery flavor.  Use unsalted butter or omit the salt in the recipe.
• Sugar:  Provides the balancing sweetness to the tart lemon juice. Please use only granulated sugar.  Do not use brown sugar or honey or the flavor and consistency will be ruined.
• Salt:  A pinch of salt balances the flavors. Use regular table salt and not anything larger.
• Cornstarch: Set yourself up for lusciously thick and smooth success with this secret weapon.  Cornstarch not only ensures the curd thickens properly but more importantly, it binds to the egg proteins and acts to protect them from denaturing, helping to prevent your curd from curdling.

TIPS FOR PICKING LEMONS

Lemons are the star of the show, so let’s pick good ones!  Here are some helpful tips for picking the best lemons:

• Appearance: The lemons should have bright yellow, smooth skin without mold, soft spots or wrinkles/shriveling.
• Smell: They should have a pleasant fragrance before cut into them and a clean, sharp, and citrussy fragrance once they’re sliced open. If they smell at all moldy, fermented or vinegary, they are bad.
• Weight: Look for lemons that are heavy for their size which means they are extra juicy. 
• Texture: Look for lemons that yield slightly when gently squeezed. You don’t want lemons that are too firm because they won’t yield much juice and you don’t want lemons that are too soft, or they could be on the verge of spoiling.
• Size: Select smaller lemons because they will have thinner skins and are the best for juicing; whereas larger, thicker-skinned lemons are best for zesting.

What if your lemons are not very juicy?

You will need 2/3 cups lemon juice in this Lemon Curd recipe.  To yield the most lemon juice out of your lemons, start by breaking down the membranes inside the lemon. The membranes hold all the juicy goodness we want! Here’s how: 

• Microwave the lemon for 15-30 seconds or until slightly warm to the touch because warm lemons release more juice than cold lemons
• Vigorously roll the lemon on the counter for a few seconds to loosen and break down some of the citrus membranes which will get the juices flowing
• Use a lemon squeezer or reamer to extract more juice

How to Make Lemon Curd

This recipe is easy to make from scratch on the stove without a double boiler or tempering the eggs. The key here is to work over medium-low heat and to whisk constantly – but that’s also the good part- all you have to do is whisk!  Here’s how to make creamy Lemon Curd with step by step photos (full recipe measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post):

• Step 1: Combine the ingredients. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together in a small saucepan (stainless or enameled). Whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and cornstarch until the cornstarch dissolves and most of the sugar has dissolved.

• Step 2:  Simmer until thickened.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 4-8 minutes. 

• Step 3:  Add the butter.  Once thickened to the consistency of pourable pudding, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cubed butter until melted, followed by the vanilla and salt.

• Step 4:  Strain the Lemon Curd.  Strain your curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove any cooked eggy bits to ensure it’s perfectly smooth and creamy.  It helps to push the curd through with a back of a spatula. 

• Step 5: Chill.  Cover the lemon curd with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the curd to prevent a film from forming.  Chill for at least two hours to thicken.  The Lemon Curd will taste even more intensely glorious once chilled.

Should I Strain the Lemon Curd?

Straining your lemon curd will ensure gloriously smooth Lemon Curd every time.  It removes the egg chalazae, possible scrambled bits and any lemon pulp. Here’s the deets:

• Removes chalazae: Your whole eggs will often have a white cord-like attachment called a chalazae that hold the yolk in the center of the egg. These chalazae can leave little eggy bits in your curd that may look like scrambled eggs, but they’re not.  They simply don’t break down easily and need to be strained out. 
• Removes scrambled egg bits:  Don’t let a few scrambled egg bits ruin your curd, it will still taste glorious.  Just strain out any egg that got away from you and possibly scrambled on the sides or bottom of the pan. 
• Removes lemon pulp:  When juicing fresh lemons, sometimes a large piece of pulp or seed can make its way into the curd.  Straining it will eliminate any of these strays.  It will also strain out some zest, which I personally don’t mind but it will make it even silkier.

Why Won’t my Lemon Curd Thicken?

Lemon Curd should thick enough to coat the back of a spoon when it’s hot and should thicken up to pudding-like consistency when it’s chilled. The curd can take up to 10 minutes to thicken to the consistency of pourable pudding, so be patient (remember it will thicken more once it cools).  Continue to cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened.  It will seem like it’s not thickening at all and then out of nowhere it will thicken right up.

If you’ve been cooking the curd for over 10 minutes, however, and your curd is still thin like heavy cream, then there are a few culprits:

• It’s likely your measurements were off and you either added too much lemon juice or not enough egg.
• You may not have heated the lemon curd to the proper temperature. Using a thermometer is a great way to ensure that you are cooking the egg to the point of thickening – 170 degrees F.

Ways to Customize This Recipe

Lemon Curd is easy to customize to make it perfect for you.  Here are a few suggestions:

• For a sweeter:  increase the sugar
• For less sweet: reduce the sugar
• For more tart: stir in an additional 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest after you’ve added the butter
• For less tart:  reduce the amount of lemon zest
• For more buttery:  add additional butter
• For less rich: reduce the amount of butter
• For thicker: add an additional 1-2 egg yolks
• For richer:  add 1 extra egg yolk or additional butter
• For a dairy-free lemon curd:  swap the butter for your favorite dairy free butter
• Other fruit curds:  In addition to lemon, you can make curd with Meyer lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruit, or passionfruit.  Substitute equal amounts of one juice for another but you may need to reduce the sugar as lemon juice is tarter than some of the other fruit juices.

Lemon Curd FAQs